Wednesday, August 27, 2008

New Things


The girls have done several new things the past couple of weeks. One of these was attempting to eat cereal for the first time ever! They were really excited about it, as you can see in the above picture :)


Jocelyn didn't know what to think at first but as you can see below, she ending up loving it!


Gabby is not as pumped as Jocelyn about the whole eating cereal thingy...she would much rather just have the "true source" of nutrition :)


Another new thing the girls started doing is sitting up in their bumbo seat (and trying to eat every toy I give them)


This pic of Gabby cracks me up...she looks so surprised


She is so funny....she looks SO terrified!


The girls also started reading this week (or rather, we are reading to them :)

Pics

Shane and I playing with Gabby....she needs a little extra one-on-one time :) Jocelyn is a bit more independent

Family Pic with our Small-Blacks


Jocelyn is the happiest baby I have ever met. She laughs and smiles almost all the time. She ESPECIALLY loves time with her daddy :)


A little slobber won't hurt anyone :)


I love these strawberry outfits...aren't they so cute?!


Gabby laughing at Shane


Jocelyn loves playing with Shane's beard


I think me and Gabby are making the exact same face :)


Gabby loves when you kiss her tummy

The Small-Blacks


Here are the girls (the "small-blacks") sporting their New Zealand All-Blacks gear (given to them by Auntie Georgie) and posing for a pic with their new Kiwi friend, Josh. He is a good friend of ours that we met in 2002 when we lead the ITP team to New Zealand. He is visiting with us for the next few months. He is taking some classes at RTS while he is here.We are so excited that the girls are getting exposure to other cultures and accents at such a young age :) And it's great to have an extra set of hands around when we need a little extra help!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

5 Month Photo Shoot



So, the girls were 5 months old on Wednesday!!! WHAT!!?! I really can't believe it....I feel like the last 5 months have flown by and also lasted for eternity all at the same time....anyways, Amy and I decided to try to have a 5 month photo shoot with the girls. We thought it was a great idea, however...Jocelyn and Gabby weren't that excited about it. I never knew how hard it could be to attempt to get two babies to not only look at the camera at the same time but also have their eyes open, etc. etc. I've realized it is virtually impossible! Anyways, here are some of the semi-ok ones of our very short-lived 5 month photo shoot :)



















It's SO cute to watch Jayden and the girls interact with each other. Jayden kisses their feet and they smile and laugh at him all the time :)

Pics


Our new favorite thing is the double jogging stroller! We take the girls for a walk (or several) everyday. They love it too!


The girls love to just chill out on the couch especially with Shane :)


Jocelyn could not get any more laid-back....


The girls watching T.V....


The girls have started really noticing one another and trying to interact with each other....it is SO cute!


Our wonderful friends, Bryan and Delta, came by to visit us and meet the girls this past weekend. Delta...why didn't I get a picture of you??


I love their "candy cane" outfits (even with slobber and spit-up all over them :)

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Pics


The girls LOVE their exersaucers!( thanks John and Ariel!!) I never thought they would be big enough to use them!

Jayden showing Jocelyn which toys are the coolest



Gabby is AMAZED by everything!



Amy and I decided to go ahead and get the girls ready to play volleyball. They've got the socks...all they need is the spandex!


"Daddy tired"...


Gabby holding her bottle like a big girl...I think she would eat until her stomach exploded if we would let her


The girls LOVE going for walks in their baby carriers :)

The Pink Pillow


So, almost the whole world (from what I feel like) has seen me feed the girls on this twin pink nursing pillow. I have been feeding them on it since they were born. Since we have been in Orlando, I have fed them on the pink pillow in our bed. Well, I went to work this past weekend
( I work VERY part-time at Clinique) and Shane watched the girls for me. During my 5 hour shift, he and Demetrius had to give them two feedings. We have given the girls bottles before and they have done fine. We usually give them bottles in the living room using a boppy. When Demetrius tried to give Jocelyn her first bottle, she would have nothing to do with it. Then Shane tried and she still turned away in disgust. SO, my brilliant husband decided to get in bed, strap the pink pillow around his waist and lay her like I do when I feed her and she sucked that bottle right down! Now, it is the only way she will take a bottle! Isn't that unbelievable! I am SO glad they took a picture of this....I think it is hilarious...

The Power of the Moose


OK...this is going to be a little lengthy, but bear with me...there are several aspects to the story and I have to include them all for the story to make sense...SO, here I go... First aspect of the story...A while back, we started putting the girls down with little silky animal blanket thingys that Merrill got the girls before they were born ( thanks Merrill!). Now, when we first got them out, we didn't really pay much attention to what kind of animal head was on the top of the little blanket. We would just lay the girls down and put it beside them so they could have something to snuggle with. One day Shane looked at the monitor and said .. "Great... Gabby has that Moose under her neck..I guess I'll have to go move it and wake her up". I was like.."what did you just say? what moose?". "That blanket moose thing". I said, "It's not a moose, it's a bear". Well, actually as we later examined it, we found out it wasn't a bear or a moose, it was a rabbit's head...BUT, because it was SO random that Shane called it a moose...that is what we decided to name it..."THE MOOSE" . Second aspect of the story....We have had a really hard time getting Gabby to sleep lately. For the past few months, the girls have slept on their stomachs and would sleep pretty decently. Well, about a month ago, Gabby decided she wanted to start rolling over to her back and then scream bloody murder! She COULD NOT fall asleep on her back. For weeks we would go in and roll her back to her stomach over and over again during her naps and at night (sometimes 7 or 8 times a night....maybe that contributed to my insomnia?!??). Third aspect of the story....Amy, my wonderful and wise friend/roomate, suggested we just start laying her down in her crib on her back from the beginning and letting her learn to fall asleep on her back. We knew this would be extremely challenging because she just screams and screams when she is on her back....but we had tried everything and I was really getting exhausted with the whole thing....so, we decided to give it a shot. Amy said that Jayden, her son, went through the same thing and would cry and cry until one day...she walked in to his room and he was asleep (on his back) with his silky little blanket pulled over his head. From then on, he would always go to sleep with his blanket over his head. I thought she was NUTS! I mean, I could NEVER let my baby lay there with a blanket or anything over her head....no way! Well, we started putting her on her back a few days ago. I was so nervous about it because I knew she was just going to fight and fight. When I first layed her down....she freaked out for sure...crying, kicking, etc etc. So, I went into the living room and sat down with Amy to try to distract myself for a few minutes. I had the monitor on the table, but there was really no need for it because I could hear her loud and clear. After a good while, Amy noticed the crying had stopped...I went a got the monitor and there before my eyes was Gabby ASLEEP ON HER BACK with the polka dotted MOOSE on her face. OK, so I know I said I thought Amy was nuts....I guess I am nuts too because she now can sleep on her back and LOVES the moose to be on her face and that is fine with me :). (now, i did go in and make sure she was breathing for all of you who think I am crazy...:). SOOOO, that is a really LONG story but if you knew how hard it has been the past month trying to get her to sleep...you would definitely understand how HUGE this is....OH, THE POWER OF THE MOOSE....

Insomnia Recovery....Hopefully

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for me to be able to sleep. The last three nights have been so much better! I've actually been able to fall asleep and then fall back asleep after I wake up (without taking medicine)! I feel like a new person after getting a few good nights of sleep. It's unbelievable what sleep deprivation will do to you....physically, emotionally, spiriutally...SO, thanks again forall your prayers and encouraging posts!!